Refrigerator body construction



Filed Oct. 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet l gvwc wbo'v Game 12.506960 March 23, 1937. G. R. SEEGER REFRIGERATOR BODY CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed on. 26, 1953 March 23, 1937. G R SEEGER REFRIGERATOR BODY CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 J MP1 Q EN 1 I w I- i F1 2 1 IE E (imZcm/e March 23, 1937. G. R. SEEGER REFRIGERATOR BODY CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 26, 1935 Patented Mar. 23, 1937 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mam nnmdsna'ron soar coNs'rnUc'rIoN or to ,StPauLMimma Application October as, 1933, Serial No. 095.335 4 Claims. (01. sis-11s This invention relates to refrigerator body construction and is particularly adaptable to large display refrigerator cases where it is desirable to have a strong durable body construction which 5 ma be well insulated so as to retain the refrigera in! properties within the same and so as not to be materially aflected by the outer atmospheric conditions.

Heretofore refrigerator display cases have been constructed with the bodyportion made either of wood or angle iron reinforcing frame members which have taken up considerable of the space.

up by the reinforcing frame members in wooden beams or a/ngle iron members, riveted. bolted, or

otherwise secured together. It will be apparent 25 that with these angle iron members, making up the frames of old types of refrigerators made it difficult to fit cork insulating material or sheets or other insulating material in and about the same without having obvious lealm or filtering of 30 the cold-from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside, and heat on the 'outside material affecting the inside of the refrigerator.

I have overcome these difllculties in a simple yet very practical manner, by forming the body 35 of the refrigerator of'comparatively thin sheet members of sheet metal which are formed to give the proper angular shape to the same to form the ends, bottom, top, and front and back of the refrigerator case. and then by welding or 40 otherwise securing these formed sheets together. This provides an exterior body for a refrigerator with a large hollow space between the inner and outer surfaces thereof which may be easily filled with formed sheets or blocks or slabs or loose 45 material cast of insulating material, such as cork, or other suitable insulating material.- With my construction for the body of the refrigerator, I also provide a much larger space for the insulating material, thus providing in- 50 sulated walls for the refrigerator capable of greater emciency in collecting and maintaining the desired temperature within the same under various weather conditions.

A further advantage of my refrigerator body 55 construction is that the weight is materially reduced without sacrificing any rigidity and in fact, even giving a greater strength and better construction where it is needed. It will be apparent that in large display refrigerator cases, such as are used in stores to display perishable goods, I 5 have accomplished a very desirable means of giving better and more efllcient display refrigerator cases in a more economical and eflicient manner than has been done heretofore.

It is also a feature of my refrigerator to pro- 10 vide a new method of making the body construction of refrigerators wherein the sheet metal sides form the reinforcing means for the refrigerator body and which may be covered with a flexible insulating material between which the insulating sheets or blocks of pressedcork or other material may be confined and covered by the flexible insulating material, so as to virtually hermetically seal the same together to form a large mass of insulating material in the walls of the refrigerator frame. I have found this construction to be very eiiicient and much more desirable than the oldconstructions used heretofore, as hereinbefore set forth, and having the advantages pointed out. l

In the drawings forming part of this specification:

Figure l is a front view of my refrigerator in the form of a display counter.

Figure 2 is a back view of the same.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a back view of the outer sheet metal shell of my refrigerator. 7 v

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figare 4. Figure 6 is a front view of the outer sheet metal shell. n

Figure 7 is an outside end view of the refrigerator, showing the sheet metal end shell. 40

IFig'lireb is a section on the line 8-8 of Figure 6, showing a section through the outside metal shell.

Figure 9 is an enlarged section transversely through my counter display refrigerator, as it would appear when finished with the insulation in the sides of the frame, with the display window in place in the front, with slidable display window doors opposite to the front in the back, and lower compartment doors in the back.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic perspective detail, showing some of 'the essential construction of my refrigerator.

My refrigerator A may be made of any suitable design, size or shape, and for convenience I have illustrated a counter display r g rator in the drawings. which shows a long display form thereof of a type desirable for usein stores for displaying perishable goods therein. The refrigerator A made up in this counter display form is provided with a long front display window II which is made up of a series of window panes ll held together in the frame portions II which extend around the window panes and ,which are designed to hermetically seal the marginal edges of the window panes il so that the outer atmosphere will not interfere with the inner atmosphere in the display refrigerator chamber it. The display window II is held in an inclined position extending from the top shelf portion II to the front side wall II as illustrated in Figure 9.

In the back I provide a series of slidable window doors B which have panes of glass I6 anchored in the frames ll of the same. The frames I! slide upon suitable rails it which are mounted and formed in the casing of the refrigerator A. These slidable window doors B permit free access to the display compartment so that the merchant can remove or place perishable goods in display on the shelf ll inside of the chamber ll; Below the display shelf i! I provide a storage refrigerator compartment Ill. Suitable doors 0 arehingedly supported inthe bachwall Ii of thecasing of the refrigerator A. The bottom wall I! of the refrigerator A connects the front wall ll withthebackwallli andeachofthewalis ii, Ii, and 22 of the refrigerator A are of a thick well insulated construction as will be hereinafter pointed out.

In refrigerators made up as display counters to display perishable goodsmsually these refrigerators are of considerable length and heretofore theyhavehadtobemadewithaverystrong inner frame so as to properly support the outer casing in a manner to provide rigidity so that an inner lining could be held therein and the refrigerator couldbe sturdy andstrongsoasto beused as May counter. In these former construetions channel irons have beenused to form an inner bracing frame for the refrigerator and also inner wooden frames have been madefor this purpose. In either of these old methods, an inner frame of this character is undesirable, primarilybecausethechannelmetalironinner frameis heavy and cannotbemade toprovide a large enough or qnbroken inner compartment for mail; material. In a large display refrigerator it is desirable to provide suflicient insulating material between the inner and outer casings or shell metal portions of the refrigerator to insulate the same suflleiently to give an eiilcient and practical refrigerating display device. Another objectionable feature of the channel inner iron framesisthatthemetalinnerframeconductsthe cold-from theinsidesheathingorliningtothe outside, causing sweating, because. of course, it isnecesaarytosecuretheinnerandoutershella oftherefrigeratortotheinnerframe. Wherea woodeninnerframeisusedbetweentheshellaa ccrtainconduetivltyiscarriedonowingtothe oontinuousandinherentfibresofthewoodand. further,thewoodframedoesnot-formapractical means of insulation like compremed cork blocks or other similar insulating material which has a higher insulating, Further, woodframesaremore expensive andare heavier andlmnecessaryascomparedwithmyconstructionandmethod ofmahlngarcfrigeratorwhere it is dedrable' to have an efliclent insulating meansatalowercost.

In my refrigerator the outer covering is a metal shell made up of sheet material such as sheet metal which may be enameled with a vitreous enamel on the outer surface thereof or may have any finish on the same, or may be covered by a separate enameled sheathing. The sheet metal which forms the shell is formed to provide the angular formation of the refrigerator casing so as to form the front wall it and the bachwall 2i, and this sheet metal may be comparatively thin and may be integrally connected together by welding or otherwise, to provide the desired size and shape of the refrigerator shell for the casing. The inner edges of the wall III may be turned in with an'angular lip 2| formed along the top of the wall it and with inwardly inturned lips 25 formed around the door opening for the doors 0 in the back Ii or the display openings, and with an upper inturned lip or flange 28 on the upper edge'of the back wall 2i, all of which form reinforcing means for strengthening and forming rigidity to the shell casing of the refrigerator A.

The end portions 21 of the refrigerator are formed of sheet metal and are provided with marginal flanges around the same which extend inwardly and are connected to the sheets which form the front and back walls II and 2!, respectively. The casing is made up in this sheet metal shell formation with the outer shell portion made up first, as illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6, '7, and 8, so that the entire outer shell forms a sheet metal construction which includes the bottom portion 2! connecting the front wall II with the back wall Ii, and with the top shelf portion ll formed of sheet metal anguiarly shaped as shown, and connected with the ends and the front window frame and the back window frame. Inwardly turned flanges II are formed on the inner edges of thetop shelf portion II, and around each opening in the shell casing similar inwardly extending flanges are formed on the outer sheathing which provides the rigidity around the opening The method of constructing the refrigerator is thus carried out by first making up the outer casing in shell formation, as just described, and after this shell is completed, their the inner surface of the sheathing, such as the wall II, the back 2i and the bottom 22, may be covered with a pliable or flexible insulating material 30 which may be a flexible cemena or asphalt or other suitable similar material which is sufficiently plastic to be spread on the inner surfaces of the entire sheet metal shell. After the plastic lnsulating material II has been covered over the inner surfaces of the shell, cork blocks of insulating material I) are laid against the plastic in-- sulating material ll, being caused to adhere to the same owing to the plastic and sticky nature of the'insulatlng material 80.

This provides a method of permitting large sections of cork blocks D to be laid in place against the inner walls and surface of the shell of the refrigerator A, without any obstructions or inner frame, such as has been used in old forms of refrlgerators, and thus my method permits a better construction for a refrigerator where it is obvious that the insulation forms such an important part of the construction thereof.

After the blocks of insulating material which may be of cork or other suitable insulating material have been'laid in place in the shell of the refrigerator, thesame maybe coated over the outsideandbetweentheportionsoftheblocks,

if desirable, with acoatoffiexible insulating natil terial 3i, and then the inner lining 32 is laid in place against the coating Si or directly against the insulating blocks D. A layer-of insulating paper lllr is preferably inserted between the plastic material I! and the inner lining 32 of the refrigerator so that if the enameled or otherwise finished surface of the lining 32 becomesdar'naged, this lining may be replaced without the necessity of breaking up the insulating blocks D in the walls of the refrigerator. The lining I2 constitutes the inner lining bottom portion 83, the inner lining front wall :4, the back inner lining wall 35, and the end inner lining wall 38. This inner lining 32 may be enameled or finished in any suitable manner so as to provide the desired inner finishing surface of the refrigerator A. The refrigerator A is preferably made in sections, or halves, as shown, to permit the insertion of the lining 32 into place. The inner lining 32 may be secured in any suitable manner to the insulation D which forms the spacing means bee tween the outer shell and the inner lining and\ at the window display openings an inwardly pro- Jecting flange means 31 extends to connect with 1 the inner frame portion 38 as illustrated in Figure 9, as well as an outer flange portion, 39 so as to anchor the lining in a suitable manner about the window frame openings. In the back wall 35 an inner flange 4B is formed around the door opening for the doors C. The door openings for each of the doors 0 is provided with a nonmetallic channelled finishing lining II, which extends to form the door opening with the flanges 25 and ill and forms a rigid frame structure for the door openings. These channel liner members ll may be secured in any suitable manner to the shell casing and inner lining.

It is apparent that the insulating material 1) forms the spacer means between the inner and outer shells of the refrigerator and takes the place of old wood and metal frames, yet provides a rigidity and supporting means sufiicient to form a refrigerator of a substantial nature and wherein I have found a means and method of applying the insulation between the shells of the refrigerator to give a greater efiiciency than former structures .where a frame either of wood or angle iron or other material was used in making up the frame inside of the inner and outer shells of the refrigerator.

My method of making refrigerators simplifies the manufacture and construction and provides a refrigerator cabinet having all of the necessary rigidity and firmness required in the body thereof and yet being, of a much lighter weight. This method also permits a refrigerator to be made with a smoother inner and outer finish, requires. less bolting and screws for holding the parts together, and permits an inner and outer enameled surface to be employed which may extend over the entire inner and outer surface of the refrigerator cabinet being connected integral. Thus a more sanitary and far more desirable refrigerator may be made, wherein the inner portion is insulated more perfectly from the outside than with older methods and without the possibility of leaks or siphoning from the outside to the inside, or vice versa, because there are no cracks or crevices in the insulation and the inside is insulated virtually perfectly from the outside, even around the display openings and door openings.

It is apparent that the refrigerator A may be built up from the outside shell to the inside shell and completed with the nonmetallic frame members ll around the door and window openings. or

similar nonmetallic frame members. It is also apparent that the refrigerator may be built up by first building the inner casing which comprises the top 32', the bottom ll, the side 34, the side 35, and the ends 36, forming these parts of sheet metal finished as desired with enamel or other suitable material, or with any suitable finish which is adapted to constitute the inside of the refrigerator. Then this inside shell may be covered with the blocks of insulating material D or first covered with a flexible coating of insulating material in the form of a paint or asphalt adhesive material spread over the same, and then applying the blocks D of insulating material. After this, the refrigerator may be finished by applying thshell-like sheathing which is of metal, finishing by enameling on the outside or otherwise finishing the same by laying sheets of enamel over the same. Before the outside shell has been applied to the insulating material, it is apparent that after the blocks of insulating material are laid in place they may be covered with a second,

coating of flexible or paint-like insulating material before the outer shell is secured to the same. Then these parts are connected together in any suitable manner to form the body of the refrigerator including the non metallic or non-conductive framing portions around the door or .display openings.

Thus the refrigerator may be built from the outside in or from the inside out, and when it is complete it provides a refrigerator without any inner supporting frame of wood or metal, but just a continuous mass of insulating material which is virtually inherently or integrally connected together, forming a continuous mass of insulating between the shell portions which constitute the inner and outer sheathings. This simplified construction of refrigerator is highly desirable and is an advance in the art of making refrigerators.

The window doors B are mounted upon the rails]! which are formed in channels of insulating material, like 4 I, so that there are no metallic parts to cause sweating or siphoning of the cold out of the refrigerator around these openings. The frames of the doors B are of insulating material, such as hard rubber or other suitable nonmetallic substanne which is not readily affected by heat or cold, while the display window ill is sealed hermetically between the casings and the insulating material of the refrigerator. A suitable illuminating means E may be associated inside of the shelf portion ll, as illustrated in Figure 9, for illuminating the contents on the display shelf is of the refrigerator A.

With this unique, simple, and efilcient means of forming the outer shell of the refrigerator-cabinet of comparatively thin sheet metal and providing a large free space for thick blocks of insulatin material D to be placed between the outer shell sisting in first forming a two part outer shell of thin sheet metal bent to the desired shape, each part being maintained as a separate unit, then covering the inner surface of each part of the same with an a hesive plastic insulating material, then laying sheet or blocks of insulating material thereon, then covering the insulating blocksormaterialwithacoatingofadhesive plastic insulating material, then applying a two 5 part inner casing which is formed of sheet material over the insulating material, then connecting thepartsofeachcasingtogetherandthenplacing a heat or cold insulating frame around the display or door openings.

2. The method oi making a refrigeratof consisting in forming a two section outer casing comprising a plurality of parts of thin metal into the desired shape and having F 87 door openings therein, connecting the parts thereof integraiiy by welding or other suitable means to form a smooth outer surface, then covering the inner surface of each section of said shell-like casing with insulating material, then covering the insulating material of each section with a thin sheet metal lining, then connecting the sections of each casing together, after which the display or door openings are framed with a heat and cold resisting frame portion anchored in place to finish the display or door openings.

32Themeth0d ofmahngarefrigeratorconsistinginformingsheetmetelintotwoseotions of the desired shape with window or door openingstoactastheahell-likeoutercasingofthe refrigerator, each section being maintained as a separate unit during construction, then covering theoiitersurtacewithenameiortheiikathen applyinginsuiatingmeansovertheentireinner surface of the shell-like casing to the desired thicknessandinanintwralmasathencovering s the insulatingmateriaiofeachsectionwithathin sheet metal enameled lining and securing the same together, then finishing the door or window openings by framing the same with a nonmetailic frame portionandapplyingthedoors or 10 windowsthereto.

4. The method of a refrigerator consistinginformingtheoutershellintwosections of sheet metal and finished on the outside, each section being maintained during con- 16 struction as a separate unit, app yins insulating materialtothedesired thickness over the entire innersurfaceoftheshelicasinginamannerto virtuallybecomeanintegralinherentmasathen coveringtheinsulatingmaterialofeachsection 20 with ashell-iike sheathing-enameled orflnlshed, thenconnecting withanonmetallic heat and coldv materlaltheinnerandtheoutershells ammdthedoorandframeopcningaandconnectingtheshell-liketotheinsulatm 25 whichholdsthesamespacedaparttoformarefrigeratorbodywithinnerandouter shellsspaced \partandreinforcedbytheinsulaflngmaterlai.

GUSTAV! R. SEEGER. 

